It's me, isn't it?

Lucy
It is a cold grey day in the Foothills today.  The sky is choked with clouds perpetually dumping heaps of wet snow on the roads, on cars, and on the occasional weary foot traveler.
Lucy is one of these weary foot travelers.  She had nothing planned for things to do today, so she decided to take a trek out and finally visit the address that Richard gave her.  He'd said she'd find plenty of people who had similar interests here.  Lucy had her thoughts on what that might mean, and she wanted to see them verified (or discounted, whichever).
What she hadn't counted on was just how far out of the way the place is.  The buses will only take her so far and she hadn't considered she might need a cab to make the rest of the journey.  So it is that a tall, hooded figure trudges along one of the main access roads up through the foothills and the house there.  Every once in a while she checks her phone to make sure she's still on the right track.  While cold and chill and frost affect her very little, she's never tested the theory of whether or not she can get frostbite or die from exposure.  She hopes today isn't the day that she finds out either.
And with each step that she ascends in the direction of the various gulches at the start of the mountains she asserts that this time, this place, here and now.  Soon as she gets herself some permanent, long-term, gainful employment she's going to get herself a goddamn car.

Alyssa Solomon
Alyssa saw Kalen's note on Ginger, of course.  The Hollow One has been hooked up to the MMS (magely messaging service) for a short while now and she finds it all amusing, but also useful.  So she noticed when he said that he would be at the Chantry and that's what brings her there.  Although her reasoning has nothing to do with hot chocolate or snow or anything like that.  Nope, she's going there with a purpose.
Of course, this doesn't mean that she hasn't skimped out on her regular routine, and that includes making herself up.  It's a bit less flashy than perhaps she has been known to do; instead of fancy color schemes, she's kept it limited to pale and heavy eyeliner, with painted brows.  The one flourish is her lips: black, with a dark red right down the middle.  It's a tasteful look but still distinctly Alyssa.  It's complemented by a top that starts off dark and faces into a transparency by the time it gets to the waist, a skirted pair of leggings and a leather jacket.  A leather cuff is wrapped around her left wrist.
And that's how she looks as she gets out of her trusty, rusty red '89 Acura Legend, whistling a little as she heads her way to the door.

Kalen Holliday
[Nightmares]
Dice: 6 d10 TN7 (3, 3, 5, 6, 6, 9) ( success x 1 )

Kalen Holliday
Kalen has, as promised, made hot chocolate.  The long way, where you have to melt chocolate and mix it with milk, which makes some of his protests about not being able to cook are probably based less on the fact that he could not learn to cook and has instead just decided not to learn.  Or perhaps he got tired of accidentally summoning demons.
Okay.  That probably didn't happen.
But there is hot chocolate and there are marshmallows and there are a ridiculous number of bottles of alcohol in various flavors lined up near a line of those ridiculous ceramic hand-warmer mugs and piles of marshmallows.  There are pans of lasagna in the refrigerator, with instructions written out carefully on star-shaped post-it notes in sparkly purple pen.  The last step, for anyone ambitious enough to look, reads, 'I promise if you do what I say you will not light the kitchen on fire.  And can't you just put it out with your mind anyway?  ;P'
And Kalen, who can actually walk now, is stirring hot chocolate and rearranging all the bottles and straightening the line of mugs and walking to the windows to look at the snow and generally wandering here and there because he can.  Annnnnnnnd...possibly because if he stays still he will fall asleep.

Alexander
[Hang on, do we actually notice you..?
Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (3, 3, 6, 8) ( success x 2 )

Alexander
The weather is cold, wet, miserable.  But at least it’s too warm for the ground to freeze and black ice to cover the roads up to the Chantry.  Somewhere between Morrison and who-knows-where, a salt-stained blue motorbike slowly (for the rider) makes its way along a road.  The rider is well-insulated against the cold, although it seems to bother him less these days than it used to.  But, as Lucy, he has no inclination to see if that makes the slightest difference to the effects exposure has on him.
So somewhere along that road, a bike passes a hooded figure from behind.  Between the hood and the rider’s helmet, there are no faces to recognise.  But these aren’t ordinary people, and there are more ways to recognise someone than just their facial features.  The cold, threading feeling emanating from the figure, blending in with the rider’s Frozen aura, seems to bring the temperature in the air down further.  The brake lights come on and the bike pulls over to the side, waiting for the walker to catch up.  The rider lifts the mirrored visor up to look at her when she does.
“Need a lift?”

Alyssa Solomon
[[Awareness Magedar just because why not?  And to set a baseline for when the others get there!]]
Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (3, 4, 6, 8, 9) ( success x 3 )

Kalen Holliday
[Everyone else is doing it!  Awareness!]
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 5, 5, 6, 10, 10) ( success x 3 )

Lucy
Lucy knows nothing about hot chocolate and alcohol and a certain lanky Hermetic she met that one time waiting at her destination.  Not for her, of course, but when she gets there she'll definitely think it a fortuitous coincidence.  Although, when one is so knowledgeable in the ways of Entropy as she is, is anything really a coincidence anymore?
Like, for instance, the sound of a motorbike coming up behind her, the sight of it pulling a little ways ahead, then pulling off to the side.  Like he's waiting for her.  Alexander would be the first person to stop and offer the young woman a lift, not because the general populace is generally uncaring of the plights of strangers, but because out here there simply aren't many people driving past.
There isn't much to recognize her by other than that cold, frosted resonance, that threading, stitching feeling.  Her hoodie is black with pink plaid accents and lace-up detailing.  Her legs are covered in the same shredded (hard to tell if all those tears were made with a purpose or gradually over time) jeans Alexander last saw her wearing.  Same black boots, too, which are comfortable but not really made for hiking.  A thick lock of maroon-red hair and the curve of a pale chin are all he has to go by for facial recognition, at least until she looks up and sees him there.  Then her face breaks out into a wide and grateful smile and she hurries the last few feet to him.
"Do I ever," she says, and for all that she's been trekking uphill for the past half hour, she doesn't sound winded or out of breath.  Adjusting the fall of her slouching, canvas shoulder bag, she takes the offered seat behind him on the bike.  He may not have a spare helmet at the ready for her, but she doesn't mind.  She'll wrap her arms around his waist and duck her face against his shoulder to protect it from the wind and the sting of falling snow.
"I can't believe you can ride in this!" she says, and even without the benefit of seeing her face he can hear the amusement in her voice.  Meanwhile, all around them, the world turns ever more frigid.
[sure WHAT COULD GO WRONG??]
Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 2, 8, 9) ( success x 2 )

Alyssa Solomon
She's gotten past the knocking stage, for the record.  She still doesn't quite consider herself part of the Chantry yet, so to speak, but she doesn't feel the need to knock anymore.  It's still distinctly strange to her though, this fairly unprotected place.  One of these days, as she told Kalen a while back, this is going to bite the Chantry in the ass.  But until she considers it home, it's not really her place to say.
So the door opens and it shuts, and she knows approximately where Kalen is because she can sense that ever-so-strong storm off in the direction of the kitchen.  She calls out as she starts heading that way.  "Hey, Kalen.  Someone claiming to be one of your boy-toys called me up right before I was about to call him up.  Anything about that sound familiar to you?"
The final word is out just as she does reach the kitchen, taking a sideways lean to rest her shoulder against the door jamb.

Kalen Holliday
Kalen laughs.  "One of my what now?  I think you may have me confused with someone else on that count."
His expression smooths over into something more serious though, after that.  "If you mean Ian, yes.  He's the friend I told you had a problem I couldn't help with that you likely could."  He pauses.  "Ah.  Did he act like an obnoxiously smug cat at you?  He does that sometimes.  I'd say I don't think he means it, but he probably does.  I don't think he means it in a targeted way, but he's...well...kind of...."  Kalen rolls his eyes.  "You talked to him.  He was either incredibly charming or a jerk, or maybe both.  So you probably already know."
"Anyway, hot chocolate?"

Alexander
“I’ve had practice.”  Whether that’s practice at riding, or at dealing with dangerous weather, he doesn’t elaborate.  “You headed to the house?” he asks, though, before the visor comes down again.  Perhaps it’s a little too trusting, and a little too naive, or Alexander to assume that she knows where it is.  Or would even be welcome there.  But she seems to know enough of the other Awakened in the city, and seems relatively normal enough, to seem like she’d be accepted there.  Getting a nod, or a “yes”, in answer, the visor comes back down and the bike pulls away.
There’s no spare helmet, so the ride from there is slower than it was before he’d stopped.  But it’s still quicker than walking the rest of the way would have been.  Given a good day, warm weather, and decent clothes on his passenger?  That would be a different matter.
And so a short time later, a bike pulls up onto the drive of the house.  The engine dies down with a last roar, and two people get off.  “I’ve not seen you here before.  First visit?”

Alyssa Solomon
"Uh, yeah.  No, he wasn't obnoxiously smug, he was just basically a complete dick."  She doesn't say it in an angry or bitter way; in fact, it's fairly matter of fact.  She's used to having to work with complete dicks before, and it doesn't affect her ability to do so unless they actively let their attitude get in the way of what they're trying to accomplish.  Alyssa's demeanor suggests they haven't hit that stage, yet at least.
"He's the one who called me to ask for help and then got all suspicious when I said I was looking to call him too.  Which was a fun flip when he got indignant after I said I was going to confirm who the shit he was before I started handing out information like it was a roll of Smarties on Halloween."
She pauses there, partially because she feels a couple Resonances pull up,  It's a brief pause though, and she looks back to Kalen.  "What do you know about him?  He's tied into a case that I'm working on and his story seems legit to the naked ear, but I'm not born yesterday so I'm not taking it on that alone."

Lucy
"Yes," she answers at his ear.  "You're a lifesaver, I thought I was going to have to try to cut across the gulch."  Lucy's been a few places, enough that it surprised her that Richard would give up the address of this place to someone he'd just met.  But she doesn't know that it's this city's Chantry, not definitively, at any rate.  She just knows that there'll be others like her there, maybe, so it could just be some other gathering space.
She'll find out for certain soon enough.  In the meanwhile, if Alexander is going to drive more slowly then Lucy relaxes her grip around his midsection.  Not much.  And she doesn't lift her head, though once or twice she turns it, and in so doing she catches glimpses of the Chantry's acreage.  And then they're pulling up the long drive.  Lucy dismounts as Alexander cuts the engine, and she looks around, eyes wide.
"Wow."  And that may answer his question for him.
The Chantry grounds, despite the snowfall, looks much the same as it did yesterday, the day before, a month ago.  It looks much the same as it will for the next several months, beneath the thickening layer of snow that is.  The gras that pokes through the snow in place is thick, lush, verdant green.  The flowers in their beds are in full bloom despite the weather, multicolored blossoms rising valiantly above the line of the snow.  Lucy can still feel it, the faintest tingle of an older Working, something empowered, something desperate and euphoric.  Something verdant.
"What?" she asks, turning to look at Alexander, and for a moment her expression maintains that look of almost childlike wonder.  A blink and it becomes sheepish.  "Yeah, first time.  I have to tell my sister about this place, I think she'll love it."  Of course, she would tell her sister about it anyway, but still.  Lucy had been in the process of removing her gloves, but she stopped, left them on.  Uses one of those hands to motion ahead.
"You're the regular, lead the way."

Kalen Holliday
Kalen sighs.  "I know that he's hard to read, mostly."  He shrugs.  "He's just...what he is.  The only thing I can get a decent feel for is that his friend, or his whatever he is, because I'm not sure friends are really a thing Ian is prone to having, is missing.  And it bothers him more than he wants to admit to.
"And I think the only thing he may hate more than needing help is asking for it.  So if he called you...it means something, even if he was insufferable."  His expression softens a little and his eyes go a little distant, like he's thinking about something, but he doesn't say anything else about that.  Particularly not when he can sense the others coming.
"I invited him here.  For this.  But it...."  He shrugs.  "I don't expect him."

Alexander
The helmet comes off, revealing a little more of Alexander.  There’s a scarf wrapped around his neck, although more to keep the wetness from getting too far underneath his gear than for the cold. He smiles at her initial reaction to the ground, easily answering the question.  He’s a little curious about the abundance of flowers too.  He’s not had enough contact with Sid yet to connect the working with her resonance – the only reason he picked up on Lucy’s on the way here was because he’d bumped into her so recently.
“There’s a lot more land around the back, but it’s probably best to wait until the weather’s a little better to go poking around back there.”  He looks down at her boots as he says it.  “You hadn’t walked all the way out from the city, had you?”
As those inside had felt their arrival, Alexander had already picked up on a couple of familiar resonances coming from inside the house.  Not yet talking to Ginger, Alexander is equally clueless about the offerings of hot chocolate and potentially-demon-summoning lasagne.  He turns and starts walking towards the door.  Looking back, to check Lucy is following, he asks her, “Have you met Kalen and Alyssa yet?”
Opening the door, he stamps his boots on the ground to dislodge any stuck snow before rubbing them on the door mat a few times to dry the bottoms out.  “Hi guys,” he calls, bending over to start loosening the clips and working his way out of his leathers.  “I’ve brought company.  Meet Lucy.”  He gestures towards the others, motioning Lucy on while he works on freeing himself.

Lucy
Lucy picks up on the others more strongly than she picks up the Working, but the Working - no offense intended to the Mages - is so much more interesting.  Especially for someone like Lucy, who is made, or rather was turned into being the way that she is.  She wouldn't mind wandering the grounds in snow or sleet or hail or rain, but that Working gives her pause.  Beneath the snow everything is so lush and green.  It would be a shame if Lucy were to somehow ruin it.
That can come later, though, she'll figure something out by then surely.  Alexander looks down at her boots and Lucy, straightening her legs and bending to follow his gaze down, looks back up with a chuckle.  "Ah, no.  Rode the bus most of the way, but the only ones that come up farther than the town are Greyhounds, and I didn't want to wait an hour or two for the next one to find out if they make earlier stops."
So she follows Alexander toward the front door, keeping her hands and elbows in tight to her body so she doesn't brush against any bushes or outstretched branches or leaves of the other plants.  Not that her clothing won't protect the living green things, but still she's nervous now.
"Um, unless there's more than one Kalen, I've met him.  Alyssa, that'd be a no."  She follows him up the front steps and waits her turn to stamp her boots out, but then ah, hm.  "Should I take off my boots?  I'd really rather not but," but what will have to wait.  Alexander is calling out that he's brought company and so she follows up with her own call of, "Halloo!"

Alyssa Solomon
Kalen's response is, perhaps, a bit less than Alyssa was hoping for.  It shows in the crease that briefly lines her brow, the downward tug at the corner of painted lips.  It's easy for the Hollow One to go Newp, not good enough, sorry Ian.  That's what her habit has been up until the point when she came into Denver and started meeting the Awakened here: if you don't have certifiable proof that someone's on the level, then move on.  Fuck 'em.
But she doesn't here.  Whether it's a good idea or not, she trusts Kalen's judgment.  They wouldn't be a cabal if she didn't.  And so when he vouches for Ian (albeit in a circuitous way), she sighs and reaches up to scratch at her hairline.  "Well, that's not encouraging, but I'll take it I suppose.  I've gone on less when it worked out fine."  A pause.  "You know.  Once."
And then the door is opening and Alexander and a woman Alyssa hasn't yet met are coming in.  The Hollower gets a sense of that chill in Lucy's aura, and it seems distinctly appropriate considering the weather.  She looks over her shoulder toward the opening hallway and calls out.  "In the kitchen!  Hurry up before Kalen explodes over the fact that no one's eating or drinking all of his stuff!  I don't want to spend my day trying to get Flambeau out of the linoleum."

Kalen Holliday
"He doesn't really seem to be better at trusting than we are.  But he-"  Kalen frowns.  "I just know how that is.  And we're...for better or worse so far we seem to go on faith here.  I didn't give much of anything, and even knowing I was actively being hunted they brought me here.  I know it may not be the wisest thing, but it's the thing they did.  So I'm trying it out a little.
"And...for whatever it's worth, I don't think there is anyone else to help him.  The only time I've ever seen him need something he came to me.  And I don't have any illusions he has some great fondness for me.  I'm not crazy.  I just don't think he had anywhere else to go."
He raises his voice a little then, less serious and more playful.  "I will not explode!  I haven't even made the food yet yet."  He clears his throat.  "By which, of course, I mean followed the attached reheating instructions."

Alexander
“At least you’re not completely mad then,” he says with a smile to show that he’s joking.  “I’m guessing you don’t have your own transport.”  It’s not really a question – if she had something with wheels, he’s pretty sure she wouldn’t have been trekking through the weather outside.  But, then, stranger things have happened.
Lucy asks about leaving her boots on, and Alexander pauses for a moment.  “I’m not actually sure.  I just didn’t want to drag wet crap into the house and these things aren’t all the comfortable anyway.”  He shrugs.  “If anyone yells, there’s cleaning stuff out in the garage.”
Alexander calls back, “As long as he explodes on the linoleum, at least that stuff can be mopped.  Just keep him away from the carpets.”  The boots are off and he sits on the ground to get his feet out of the trousers.   A pair of decent socks have appeared from under the boots, and there’s some jeans emerging too.  A few layers of t-shirts can be seen under the open jacket.  Finally wiggling out of the last of the gear, he hangs it up by the door and wanders through to join the others.
“What’s the occasion,” he asks, seeing the array of drinks and things to add to drinks.

Lucy
"Not completely, no," she replies, her smile shifting toward impish and more grin-like.  She nods, though, and she looks down to see just how much snow and water and slush she'll be tracking through someone else's house, and her mouth quirks.  Thoughtful.  A moment later she bends as well and starts undoing the elaborate laces.  Shooting a grin to Alexander she says, "Might as well, right?  And I don't have my own, uh, transport yet.  I have to get a steady paycheck for that to happen."
She peels out of her boots, one after the other, and leaves them on the mat by the door to dry.  Her own socks are colorful - in that one is rainbow colored and the other is orange and yellow giraffe spots colored.  The legs of her jeans are tapered, of course, the better to fit into a pair of boots.  Finally she straightens, unzips her jacket to reveal her Harley Quinn t-shirt.  After a moment's hesitation she leaves her bag hanging with her sweatshirt.  There are no extra layers to her, no long-sleeved shirt, although at least it looks like she has on tights beneath her jeans.  Lucy isn't dressed for cold because Lucy doesn't need to dress for cold.  She outfits herself in the hopes that no one will ask her Are you cold?  After all these years, she's still not sure how to answer that question.
Once she's divested of her own outerwear, she pauses again.  By now, Alexander has probably already made his way to the kitchen while Lucy considers her appearance.  Should she stop in the bathroom first, make sure that everything's in order?  No, she thinks, tugging her hair to fall over one shoulder.  No don't be silly, Luce, just go say hello to everyone.  Sliding her hands into the butt-pockets of her jeans, she makes her way to the kitchen finally.  She brings the frost from outside with her, chilly icy cold, creeping over the surfaces around her, radiating out from her like a living ice cube.
"What's all this?" she asks, moving between people so that she's inside the kitchen proper and able to look at the spread.  "Hi," she says when she looks over at Alyssa.  "I'm Lucy."

Alyssa Solomon
"Alex, you say that like someone who's never tried to clean blood out of the seams in linoleum."  She smirks.  "Trust me, personal experience here.  You will never get that cleaning deposit back."
She nods a little in response to Kalen.  It's still not entirely accepting of Ian (or the idea of him), but it is acknowledgement and that's something.  And perhaps they can talk about it later, even.  After all, she's talked with Alexander about this and he had his own experience.  Something to keep in mind, perhaps, once pleasantries are done.
She slips fully into the kitchen as the two come over that way.  It's not a retreat of any kind, just her getting out of the doorway so that they can come in.  She moves to hop up on one of the counters, one wrapped leg crossing over the other at the knee.  Lucy gets a quick once-over and a half-smile.  It's not hard to guess that she's the source of the chill.  Even if it weren't getting stronger as she got closer, her aura exudes that cold.
"Alyssa Solomon.  Hollow One.  This is Kalen.  Hermetic, but don't hold it against him.  I try not to."  Even if Lucy and Kalen do know each other, Alyssa's in the mood for giving the intro.  Maybe just so she could have delivered that little poke at him.  The fact that it comes with a glitter of amusement in her kohl-lined eyes takes some of the sting out, perhaps.

Kalen Holliday
Kalen just waves to Lucy.  No wary eyes.  He huffs softly at Alyssa's little barb, but he seems completely unbothered by it.
"Oh, we've met, Angel," he says, his voice gone all amused purr.  "We've even planned our first date.  Though I haven't managed to find a moment to go on it yet.  I've been terribly preoccupied."
"No occasion," he says to Alexander, in a more proper voice.  "It was cold, and I-"  Hate the cold.  Probably not the thing to say to Alexander.
"You know how I hate company.  I thought people might come here.  And look, here you are."  He smiles.  "Have at, if you want any.  Kharisma made lasagna.  I made her promise to put only the legal mushrooms in the sauce, just for you."

Alexander
Alexander looks at Alyssa for a moment, apparently thinking something over before mentally shrugging without saying anything.  “Isn’t there something about cold salty water for getting blood out?  And, anyway – surely there’s someone around here who can figure out a way to get rid of awkward stains that doesn’t involve scrubbing.”    He looks over the drinks, checking for coffee.  If there’s some there, he’ll fish a mug out of one of the cupboards and pour some out – waving it at the others in offering.
He looks to Lucy, continuing the introductions.  “Alexander.  New-last-Thursday-so-still-figuring-out-the-teams.”  She already knew his name, but the lack of affiliation is new.  He cocks his head, curious what her background is.
He laughs a little as Kalen mentions their planned first date.  “Alyssa’s taking me on a tour of a polluted lake, I do hope your plans can compare.”  He sips his coffee as Kalen stops mid sentence, raising his eyebrows as he tries to figure out what the rest of the sentence was going to be.  But Kalen doesn’t seem as if he’s about to explain, so he lets it pass.  Prodding Kalen a little himself, adding, “Well it’s been at least a week since you last tried feeding somebody into submission.”  He looks at the pans, seeing if any appeal.

Lucy
[date did someone say date?  psh, psh i say, he's probably joking, look, look how chill we are CHILL GET IT (oh my god I can't stop): manip+subt]
Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 4, 4, 6, 7, 8) ( success x 3 )

Alyssa Solomon
[[Eh, why not just for grinsies?  Per+Sub]]
Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (3, 4, 5, 8) ( success x 1 )

Kalen Holliday
[Oh dices - Per+Subt]
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 10) ( success x 5 )

Alexander
[Eh?  Wutwut?  Per+Sub]
Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (4, 6, 9, 9) ( success x 3 )

Lucy
Alyssa's comment about the blood in the linoleum causes Lucy's brows to raise.  She is not appalled, she's not even vaguely alarmed.  It is more of an ah hah look.  Talk of blood would explain that bloody resonance.  Not so much the wings, though, that's curious.
"Oh no," she says to Alexander.  Bright green eyes slanting a glance toward Kalen and then Alyssa, she faces the apprentice.  "Once that stuff finds a crack it's best to rip everything out or it'll start to smell no matter what you do."
Introductions are being made, and she blinks, brows lifting in mild surprise.  "Oh!  Are we doing the...whole thing, okay.  Lucy Simms, Dreamspeaker," she says, pressing her palm to her sternum.  "Dreamspeakers, we're kind of a hodge podge of spirit types.  Ghosts and things, but like all the Traditions there's a lot of room for variation.  My sister and I just moved to Denver.  She's not a Dreamspeaker, though.  She's...well she's just not."  Is someone flustered?  That must be because she's in someone else's house talking to people she's barely met and stuff.  Yes, that must be it.
Clearing her throat, Lucy shifts her hands from her back pockets to her hip pockets and looks for something to lean back against, but oh, there's hot chocolate.  Before she can settle she moves to take up one of the mugs that are out and look for what to pour into it.  "What are all these marshmallows?  Oh my god are they different flavors?"  She looks around hopefully.

Alyssa Solomon
"A date, already?"  She chuckles.  "Man, it's hard to keep track of your little black book.  How many volumes is it at this point?"
It's not intended to be cruel or insulting; it's just the teasing that Alyssa and Kalen throw back and forth.  Lucy seems flustered but not by the whole date thing, so maybe the Hollower is hoping that a joke will put her at ease.  But then, is Alyssa big on putting people at ease at all?  She's unapologetic about who she is and she can certainly be abrasive, but this is a little different in tone and demeanor than her usual This is me, deal with it vibe.  And Lucy endears herself to Alyssa a bit when she points out that once blood gets in, you'd better just pull the flooring up.  She puts a finger on the side of her nose and points at the newly-introduced Dreamspeaker.
"See, this one knows what she's talking about.  I like you."  She leans back in her seat on the counter, fingers lacing as her hands come to rest around her upraised knee.  "Nice to meet you, Lucy.  Welcome to the Denver society for Awakened individuals, or whatever it is we call ourselves.  We try not to bite too hard."

Kalen Holliday
"They are so totally different flavors.  I recommend the hazelnut ones, personally, but you do what you want, Snowdrop."  Welcome to Kalen's life, Lucy.  That's what those Names mean.  You just wait, Alexander.  As soon as he figures yours out.....
He glances between Alexander and Alyssa and laughs, low and warm and rich and completely unruffled.  But he did see Lucy's response, so he does not play as much as he otherwise might.  "First," he says, and has picked up that silken purr again, "I'll have you know that as a Hermetic I do not have a black book.  I have little parchment scrolls, bound with black satin ribbons in elaborate knots according custom.  And there are no few of them, I suppose.  Lucy and I are going to explore some mine shafts.  With champagne.  I would say we may or may not have fascinating post-champagne moments, but every time I try to do anything fun outside a secure space there is some mystical crisis, so I'm going to count this whole affair as a victory if we get through the first glass of champagne."

Lucy
[her reaction is too complicated and i don't want to describe it *lazy* MAYBE SHE WILL HIDE IT??  manip+subt again, hopefully the last]
Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9) ( success x 5 )

Kalen Holliday
[Are you still freakishly perceptive?]
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9) ( success x 5 )

Lucy
[DAMN IT KALEN]

Alexander
That Alyssa knows about the problems of cleaning up blood is no surprise, after seeing... Well, after seeing.  That Lucy also knows makes him start to wonder how she knows.  Most likely similar reasons?  After all, it doesn’t sound like spreading the red stuff around is a particularly uncommon way to make things happen.  Maybe something else, though?
The train of thought shifts rapidly onto a new track as she finishes her introduction.  There’s a long look of interest on his face as she mentions the Dreamspeakers.  It’s one of the Traditions he hasn’t really found out much about so far, and having one stood here?  “Um.  Can we talk sometimes?  About the Dreamspeakers, I mean.  You’re the first one I’ve met, as far as I know, and... well, I have some questions.”  Probably more than ‘some’ by the time he’s through.  He picks up that Lucy is being a little evasive when prodded about the date.  While he wonders what that be, he’s not going to probe.  Just... no.
Kalen has a library of... little black-ribboned scrolls?  Alexander hides a snicker with the mug, taking a sip once it passes.  The teasing is obvious, but there’s likely some truth behind it.  It’s not a side of Kalen he knows about but, then, there’s a lot about off of these people that he doesn’t know.  And there’s that phrase again, but it’s not as frustrating as it used to be.  Maybe it’s starting to turn into more of a challenge.  And given his acceptance of Kalen’s invitation a few days ago?  There will be plenty of time to learn.
“Ah, c’mon Kalen.  Sera’s little picnic in the park was fun, and there wasn’t even a hint of the end of the world then.  Although... there had been there a few weeks before, so maybe it’s like lightning.”  Again, he cocks his head a little while he thinks.  Although...
He clears his throat quietly.  “I’ll, um, be back in a minute.  Too much cold, too much coffee.”  He sets the coffee cup on the counter and heads off to find the bathroom.

Alexander
[And now I go *poof* because I so should have been asleep an hour ago.  Thanks for the scene!]

Lucy
Alyssa tosses out a joke, hoping to alleviate some of Lucy's fluster, and in a way it works.  Though, it's probably not in the way the Hollow One was intending.  She mentions a black book and suggests that Kalen has multiple people in it that he contacts, and that Lucy's name is just another in a list and - well.  For the freakishly in-tune with the Dreamspeaker, she appears to be a strange combination of disappointed and relieved.
See.  He was totally just messing with you.  Maybe now she'll be less scattered.  Kalen can play around as much as he likes.  It was only the leading edge of a crush that caught Lucy off guard, after all.  She hasn't let herself really hope for more than that since...for a while, anyway.
The nickname earns a smile over her shoulder, though.  That smile widens when he describes his little parchment scrolls tied in black satin.  "And probably written in gold or silver ink or something?" she suggests, dropping a couple of what she is hoping are the hazelnut marshmallows into her mug.  Turning, she leans back against the counter and takes an experimental sip.
Thankfully it was just a sip.  Any larger of a gulp and she'd be choking on it, just as she choked on her coffee when they first met.  She does snort, though, and, mug mere millimeters from her mouth, gives the Hermetic this smile that is both amused and somehow accusatory, all Hah close but not this time, Holliday.  "Champaigne?  Is that what's happening?  Should I plan on bringing strawberries and chocolate dip?"  See.  Lucy can joke right along with them, now that she knows for sure it's harmless banter.
As for the knowledge of blood cleanup, for Lucy it's entirely harmless.  Sometimes, very rarely, blood makes its way into a ritual, but mostly her knowledge comes from catching sunshine cleaning on a hotel's pay per view on occasion.
Alexander asks if they can talk sometimes, and Lucy brightens.  Says, "Absolutely."  She doesn't get the impression he wants to steal her away to pick her brain apart right this second, so she says, "I keep cards with my number in my bag, I'll get you one."  It looks like she was right, as Alexander makes his way off to find the nearest bathroom, and perhaps putter around the house for a while.

Alyssa Solomon
Kalen and Lucy are sharing some little quips back and forth, and Alyssa finds amusement in it.  After all, why should be the only one who gets to poke at the Hermetic?  The more the merrier, really.
"Abandoned mine shafts?  Sounds like a good time.  You go do all the fun stuff with everyone else, dammit.  We haven't even tried to hit each other in well over a month or two at this point."

Kalen Holliday
Kalen turns his attention on Alyssa.  "Jealous, are we?"
And there, at least for a few seconds is something else.  Some other side of him that he mostly surrendered before, to the Order or to grief or to guilt or to god knows what.
"You're taking Alexander out to sketchy lakes, I thought you'd moved on."  He is exhausted, but his eyes are practically glowing anyway.  He pours hot chocolate over one of the giant hazelnut marshmallows and settles back with his hands wrapped around the mug, smirking.
"Anyway, I thought it might be best to keep the scandalous affairs outside the cabal.  But if you're feeling adventurous...."  He laughs.  "Well, I wouldn't blame you.  And I can only be so jealous because I may have seen him first but I really don't think I'm his type."

Lucy
"Hey hey," Lucy interjects.  She's looking at Alyssa, perched on the counter as she is, and there is a teasing light to her bright green eyes.  "Look at him, there's plenty to go around.  I'm sure we can work out a sharing schedule that leaves everyone more or less satisfied.  He and I can do the abandoned mine shafts on say Thursday?"  Turning to Kalen, she is only partly joking about setting a time, but she leaves it open in case that day doesn't work for him.  "Then you and Alexander have plenty of time to stroll around sketchy lakes.  Then we can switch for the weekend."

Alyssa Solomon
She snorts, although it's an amused one.  She's playing along more than anything.  "Jealous because the mine shafts, maybe.  Also, you'll note that I'm being very polite because the words 'shaft' and 'date' keep getting tossed together and I haven't done anything with that."
She's got an easy-going attitude here and now.  That isn't always (or even often) Alyssa's state of being, but right now she seems relaxed.  "And yeah, no thanks.  There is so much inherently wrong with the idea of me and a cop that I can't even begin to quantify it."
Then Lucy interjects, and adds her own wit to the little exchange.  The dark multi-colored lips turn up into a grin, and she nods.  "Yeah, you can totally stay.  Sharing schedules are completely my thing."  Which they aren't at all, but for purposes of the joke?  Sure.

Kalen Holliday
"We should totally do Friday though," Kalen says with a grin.  "That gives you each one non-weeknight."
He sips at his hot chocolate, watching the two of them play for a few seconds.  "I didn't know mine shafts were your thing.  But, now, those might be special between me and Lucy.  Of course....I could bring you on underground tunnels in Denver exploring.  There must be some somewhere we can get into.  They're such fun little places to get into....."

Alyssa Solomon
"Well, I can't say that mine shafts in particular are my thing, no.  But that's only because I've never done it.  And you know me, I'm always open to try new things.  Especially if they involve getting into trouble of some kind or another."  She grins and finally slips off the counter to go get herself some of that hot chocolate.  Because really, surly goth or not you have to be down with hot chocolate, right?
"I didn't know there were undergound tunnels here in Denver.  Those are always fun..."

Kalen Holliday
"Most places have them.  More fun in cities with underground transit, but they put in those tunnels for water and sewers and electrical work and access weird underground things.  Secret transport according to conspiracy theorists sometimes.  I doubt you can really get around under the city here, but there are probably a few interesting abandoned bits of it forgotten somewhere."
His tone darkens, just a little.  "Sometimes the remnants of cities other cities are built on top of.  But I don't think we'll see any ancient tunnels here.  If we find those, I may advise you run."

Lucy
Lucy falls quiet and the banter continues to zing between Hollow One and Hermetic.  She's done her best to keep up with the witty reparte, now she's content to sip her hot chocolate - it is very good hot chocolate, especially with the hazelnut marshmallow melting inside of it - and listen.  There is nothing awkward about her quietude, no sense of oh noes I'm being left out of things poutyness.
She is just...quiet.  Listening.  Observing.  When Alyssa hops off the counter to get some hot chocolate for herself, Lucy slides aside to give her space.  Her attention returns to Kalen - her attention seems to shift that way more often than it does onto anything else.  Her expression of amused interest collapses, eyes lowering to the linoleum and then lifting again.
With a sigh, she says, "You can advise, doesn't mean I'll listen.  Places like that, there are usually all sorts of people left behind who need to be...you know, dealt with."

Alyssa Solomon
"Oh yeah, I've been in all sorts of underground areas.  You want to risk life and limb in the most exhilarating way possible?  Try heading your way down into the abandoned subway tunnels in New York City."  She grins, a little too widely.  "All sorts of little evil fuckers in there to run afoul of."
She's not an adrenaline junkie, Alyssa.  At least, not exactly.  She is more of a seeker of knowledge, as befitting her Hermetic upbringing.  She could have been an archeologist if she'd grown up differently but instead, it's exploring places no living person should go anywhere."
The darker tone does draw a curious look, but she nods.  "Yeah, I'm kinda with Lucy on this one actually.  Cities on top of cities is just a recipe for disaster.  Way too many dead for my taste and I run across them on my own fine without having to spelunk.  But if you're there...well."  She shrugs.  "Someone's got to do it, you know?"

Kalen Holliday
"New York.  Tunnels.  Champagne.  I propose, you say yes, we valiantly battle the undead until we discover an underground ghost ship which we capture and sail into the harbor...."  Kalen says to Alyssa, with most of that amused purr back in full force.  "We can get married by a sea captain.  Alexander would make a splendid sea captain, don't you think?  Let's get him a ship.  And one of those coats.  And a spyglass.  It's the only way to make this work."
"Fortunately, I doubt whatever is underground in Denver is comparatively that interesting.  If it involves cities, I will be amazed.  Although, stranger things have probably happened."

Lucy
"Hey, if you're getting married at sea by One-Eyed Willy I hope I get an invite.  I have a corset that I've been saving for a special occasion, pirate wedding sounds like it'd be about right.  Especially if you can wrangle up a young Josh Brolin."
She hmms, tipping her chin upward, exposing the long, slender line of her neck.  "Maybe not a city per se, but a lot of these Western settlements were built on top of the burial grounds of the indigenous peoples.  Or not."  Lowering her chin, she shrugs.  "I've already started hearing stories about that, what's it.  Cheesman Park."

Alyssa Solomon
"Mmmm, let's see if we can avoid killing each other as cabalmates for at least a couple of months first," she says with a grin as she goes to take a lean against one of the walls with hot chocolate in hand.  "Then we can move on to greater commitments.  Or lesser ones, I guess.  I don't know, I'm not sure which falls higher on the commitment line between the two."
Lucy mentions Cheesman Park and Alyssa nods as she's taking a sip of the drink.  "Mmm!" Swallow.  "Yeah, I've been by it a couple times, been too busy to venture in.  But I get that feeling that...well, you know.  The veil being thinner between worlds, the chills that you feel and have nothing to do with the temperature...yeah, all that good stuff.  If you ever wanna check it out, I will totally go along with you."

Kalen Holliday
Kalen tenses a little at the mention of Cheesman Park.  "If it is that that place is haunted, those rumors are correct.  I was there for All Hallows Eve and I'll confirm it.  Neither Sid nor I could do anything for it or about it, but definitely haunted.  We had an evil Umbrood spirit to chase at the time, so as far as I know no one has gone out to do anything, but nothing I saw meant anyone any harm."-
"I'll let you two handle that.  You should bond.  And then we can have an extraordinarily awkward love triangle with complicated scheduling."

Lucy
Veil being thinner between worlds?  Chills that have nothing to do with temperature?  Alyssa just described the redhead finishing off her mug of room-temperature chocolate to a tee.  The Dreamspeaker is a walking cold spot, a natural gateway between worlds.  And a guardian of that gateway, as much as she can be, at any rate.
Lucy looks from Alyssa who suggests Lucy check it out and Kalen who seems tense at mention of the park, and looks back at Alyssa.  Perhaps she should be a bit gentler, or tactful maybe?  But she is a Spirit Mage, and aren't they all a little bit more comfortable with the spirits than they are with the living?
She looks at Alyssa and says, "To hell with the boys, then."  This said with a slight grin and a glance darted Kalen's way and back again.  "Why don't we go do that this weekend?  And all the weekends.  Or whenever."

Alyssa Solomon
Lucy's suggestion draws a smirk from the Hollower, and she nods.  "Hell to the yes.  We should totally do that.  Just let me know when...here, lemme give you my number actually."  She reaches in and pulls out one of her private investigator business cards, handing it over.  Networking...gotta love it.
"I'm always down for a good ghost investigation.  Any weekend you want.  And then we can creep Kalen out relating the stories to him in the worst ways possible."  A little wink follows.

Kalen Holliday
"I am very, very sorry that the sordid details of what you two will be doing in crypts just doesn't do it for me, but I do strongly support your rights to go do whatever it is you're going to do with holy water and bodily fluids and rosaries and grave moss and whatever else your devious minds can come up with."  He smirks and takes a sip of hot chocolate.
"But if you film it, I'm sure plenty of people would pay good money to see it.  Especially if you wear costumes.  I suggest vague interpretations on a sexy nun theme.  Heels.  Rosaries of, shall we say, strategic length."

Lucy
Alyssa's suggestion is not met with a wink, or a look of joking understanding.  Lucy is willing to see how far this banter-thing goes, but turning what she does - dealing with the spirits of the lost and the forgotten - into something sexual is a line in the sand.
Her mouth presses into a line and her eyes narrow, but she accepts the card and looks it over.  "Yeah," she says, looking at Kalen.  "That's not ever happening.  But you, me, and a haunted park, Alyssa?  That I'm down for."  She pockets the card and goes to the sink to rinse out her empty mug.
"I think my boots are probably dry, so I'm going to take a look around outside if that's okay.  But I'll grab you and Alexander some cards before I go.  It was good to meet you, Alyssa, and nice seeing you again, Kalen."  Just like that, it seems she turns cold, but that's not really so, is it.  Lucy is always cold, icy, limned in a coat of frost.  Sometimes she shakes it off, but really?  Truly?  She is a quiet, distant thing, and it seems she's had enough of people for one midmorning.
She wanders back out the front door to slide into those boots of hers, and slip into her hooded sweatshirt.  Taking her bag with her, she disappears onto the grounds.
[and with that i must take my leave because dinner is ready!  thank you for the scene, all!]

Grace
[Awareness!]
Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 2, 3, 4) ( fail )

Alyssa Solomon
Alyssa's reaction to Kalen is to roll her eyes and chuckle, but apparently it pushed Lucy past the edge.  Her own smile fades a little bit and she nods to Lucy as she says it's time to go look around, and that they'll have to go look at the haunted park.  "Yeah, totally.  Just hit me up whenever."
She waits until Lucy's gone and looks back at Kalen.  There's no anger or irritation, just a bit of wry amusement.  "See, usually I'm the one that takes it too far.  This is why you're great to be in a cabal with."  The sentiment carries a clear I'm kidding vibe.

Serafi­ne
(Also awareness.)
Dice: 7 d10 TN5 (2, 3, 3, 7, 8, 8, 8) ( success x 4 )

Kalen Holliday
"Yeah...I maybe should have thought.  Ghosts are...complicated."  His words say complicated.  His voice says heartbreaking.  So of course he wasn't going to have a real conversation about ghosts with a practical stranger.  "It'll be okay, I think.  I'm not actually too hung up on the lesser mandate that Hermetics never apologize."
He adds less cold hot chocolate to his mug.  "Ah.  Her whole...."  He waves a hand around in a way that seems to indicate aura.  Or that she is a Twilight vampire.  "That normal?  I haven't met many spirit Mages from outside of the Order.  And, so far I mostly like all of them, the notable exceptions being dead now, but you are mostly all...cold or creepy feeling.  Or both."  He doesn't sound particularly disturbed.  "Is that just that I've met few enough of you for that to even out, or is that a thing?"

Grace
Grace stomps up the stairs from the library, not angrily but loudly. Enough for people to hear, at least, if the sharp shift doesn't do her announcing for her.
It's a thing she's learned -- if she doesn't want to sneak up on people, she's got to make a show of herself a bit. Sneaking up behind Kalen could be hazardous to one's health. He was here earlier, now the place feels vaguely empty -- like the Chantry got deserted in the snowstorm, but no.
She can hear people in the kitchen, Alyssa saying Kalen's taken something too far. And oh, Alyssa! Maybe it's a good thing that her sixth sense is on the fritz at that...
"You still have hot chocolate?" she asks, poking her head out from behind the entryway, giving them eyebrow-waggles.

Serafi­ne
No reason that Sera's here except that she wishes to be.  Some whim - or, perhaps more truthfully, some strange correspondence that threads through both time and her body to bring her back, without conscious though.
So listen: a van.  The snow, and someone else (Dan) driving her, as he always does.  Sera slips out on the graveled drive and glances up at the frame of the house against the sky.
It feels strange, a little bit ordinary, and so very alien.
Like chalk beneath her tongue.
--
She stands out there for quite some time, in the snow, barely clad so she must be freezing, so lost in thought, or time, or place that she hardly seems present as the cooling engine ticks lightly beneath its hood.  At least until her consor slides out too; comes up behind her, and wraps his arms around her shoulders and arms.  Murmurs in her ear a question about whether or not she wants to go in.
Yes, she nods.  Yes.
So in they go.

Alyssa Solomon
"Hey, I'm not creepy at all."  She grins and reaches out to lightly smack his arm.  "You know, once you get past the whole Did I bite the inside of my cheek sensation that pops up."  She chuckles and shakes her head.
"It happens a lot with us.  Not all the time, but it's not uncommon.  The more we deal with shit across the veil, the more that affects us.  Whereas someone like..."
Oh good, here's an example.  She smiles and nods to Grace.  "Hey, you.  Somone like Grace here, or you, who don't work with spirits at all don't get exposed to that.  But then the same happens with Ars Mentis mages or Ars Temporis ones.  Hell, Ars Fortunae-heavy mages drive me wacky...she says, as someone who uses it regularly."  She smiles and shrugs.
"The more magic you use, the more that magic uses you.  Something my mentor told me once."

Kalen Holliday
"There is still plenty of hot chocolate," Kalen says to Grace with a smile.  "Get some."
He bats at Alyssa's hand with a soft huff.  "Yeah.  That makes sense.  I was just wondering if it was a real pattern, before I leapt to judgment on it.  And I don't see magic quite like that, but...I can see parallels."
He smiles back.  "Also speaking as one of them, Fate Magi can be a little weird."
Grace
Oh, Alyssa. Nothing creepy about that statement. Magic using you? Apparently she doesn't really require the bloodiness to truly wig Grace out a little. "It uses you?"
She goes over to the mugs, selects one without much thought, and then amuses herself with the hot chocolate accouterments, seemingly ignoring the fact that anyone else is even there. There are hazelnut marshmallows? Oh, Kalen.
Of course, she picks one, pours herself some chocolate, and dumps it in.
"What if you use a lot of different types of stuff?" Grace asks, staring down the dissolving marshmallow.

Serafine
The door to the kitchen swings open; Dan's standing behind Sera, one hand on her shoulder, reaching out to open the door ahead of her and then there they are, cheeks bright from the cold.  Cheeks?  Hell, Sera's wearing a bright mod dress with more cut-outs than fabric, including a long, deep scoop that shows the entire column of her spine, which then comes together briefly before it ends a quarter inch below her ass, and thigh-high black lace stockings, torn, natch, and no fucking coat and her hair all tangled from the window or whatever so: every visible bit of her exposed skin, is bright from the cold.
Dan holds the door open then props it a bit with his left hip and does not quite let go of Sera except he wants to hold her closer than she wants to be held and there's a lingering chill beneath her skin that is not from the sudden assertion of winter and this note of it between her brows that she wants to work out, which she can't, and something about the sight of them in the kitchen both warms and chills her.
Then they're inside.  Grace is pouring herself hot chocolate.  Sera has a bottle of something alcoholic in her left hand but she's not drinking from it.  Just carrying it.
She doesn't know why.
--
"Hey," Sera says, to everyone in the room, with that spare smile.
She's breathing.
That's deliberate.
That's a choice.

Kalen Holliday
"We're creatures of Will," Kalen says softly.  "What we use our magic to do is part of us, who we are shapes what our magic is, how it manifests; but what our magic does, the ways having the power that we do changes us is also a thing.  We're not entirely separate from magic, there's-"
His eyes catch on Sera.  On her skin.  On the way she doesn't seem to want to be held, and though his eyes stay on her, he keeps talking to Grace.
"-a sort balance or harmony...like the horizon, I guess.  It is as defined the edge of the sky as the edge of the earth, but it isn't the sky or the earth, and that's kind of how our Resonance is.  Not us, not our magic, both and neither tangled together."

Alyssa Solomon
She looks like she's about to respond to Kalen and Grace's comments, but then Sera's there.  And Alyssa literally doesn't know how to respond.  She's not gaping, not staring.  She's not a prude and certainly not shy or blushing at the state.  She's just...there are so many things that she could possibly say about Sera deciding that the middle of the snow was the time to dress like that and if she stays she's going to insult someone.  And she doesn't want to do that.
So instead she blinks once, looks thoughtful for a moment and then shakes her head.
"Yeah...sorry, nope."  And she finishes her hot chocolate, pats Kalen on the shoulder and turns to head out of the kitchen.

Grace
When Kalen starts talking, she slowly drags her eyes up from watching the hot chocolate (real hot chocolate) melt a marshmallow, because he always makes things sound so... nice.
She doesn't quite register the fact that Sera just walked in, because Sera comes with a feeling of her, that gut-wrenching something that is totally absent for Grace today. When she sees her, she gets a smile though. A smile, and then her expression wavers a bit. "Hey Sera. Want some hot chocolate?"
She looks like she could use some. The heat and comfort both.

Serafi­ne
"No thanks," doesn't Grace ground her, doesn't Grace bring her back to earth.  Sera fixes, affixes, Grace with the warmest skimming sort of smile, dark eyes blue and reflective and distant but present, see.  Present in her body and in her skin and in the room, which is a kitchen, which is -
Her smile has a luminous edge to it.  Something bright and shining as she lifts up her bottle by way of explanation,
then glances back at Dan.  "I think I'm going to get really fucking drunk tonight." This significant and measured look toward the consor, then Grace, a flicker, the briefest smile for Kalen in the interspace between.
"Don't want anything on my stomach that might slow it down, see."
Then back to Dan, "You can wait.  I don't think I'll need to stay long." And Kalen and Grace: "'scuse me.  Gonna go see the node." 
So saying, Sera slips through the kitchen, deeper into the chantry.

Serafi­ne
(Sorry guys!  I have to get to bed.  :(  I can continue this later with either/both if you think they would but yeah.  Sleep now!)

Kalen Holliday
Kalen nods at Alyssa, reaching up to squeeze her wrist when she pats his shoulder, lightly, briefly.  And then he watches Sera go outside in that barely existent dress, glances to Grace.
"Maybe you should follow her.  With towels.  Or blankets.  Or something."  His voice is quiet, concerned.  But he doesn't seem quite ready to go charging off after Sera.

Grace
"I don't know, Kalen. I never see her with anything more on, really. Not even in dead of winter. You weren't there to see what she wore to Christmas, whoo.
But... hmm. She doesn't look like she's having a great time, does she?"
Grace looks back down into her hot chocolate, gulps some. Hell, it's just the thing Sera would want, if she wanted anything but alcohol right now.
"I've certainly seen her in better spirits recently," she says, wondering if the newly sad Sera has anything to do with the echoes of Hydra, or... is this something new?

Kalen Holliday
"Yes.  But I've also never really seen her look cold like that before.  Or...."  He frowns.  "Don't crowd her.  Just...be ready if she needs you.  Sometimes that's the best you can do.  You just...wait.  And pray.  And hope they understand what your not leaving means."
"I...I would but I have to do something else."  Kalen's brain is quite clearly somewhere entirely different.  Which is only a little odd since he's giving Grace directions about something happening here.  Maybe.
Or maybe he is caught in a space between two things, a space somehow defined by the edges of things that skim across each other but do not precisely intersect.

Grace
Grace takes her hot chocolate with her as she goes in search of a blanket for Sera, because yeah, maybe she'd accept one, even if it means covering up. Unlikely, but hey.
What are you doing, Kalen? "With Alyssa?" she asks, thinking the Hollower is the only other person in or near the Chantry at the moment. She'd be wrong, but still.

Kalen Holliday
"No.  It's...I'll explain later.  Okay?"

Grace
"Is it about Ian and his missing person? You know he said he's going to get me a hairbrush or something I might be able to use to track him down with," Grace says, her voice echoing in the hall. She does find a blanket eventually -- a fuzzy red thing that looks quite warm, and entirely too opaque for Sera's tastes.

Kalen Holliday
Kalen blinks.  "Stop that.  It's creepy.  Also only half correct.  And then there is a thing after that."

Grace
"What's creepy? I'm not creepy. I am the epitome of non-creepy," Grace says, making her way toward the dining room and the doors there that will lead her out to the node -- out to Sera.
"I'll take care of her. She'll be fine. She's been through a lot and come across the other side, you know," she says, and slips out the door into the snow.

Kalen Holliday
"Thanks!"

Grace
Grace slides the door to the Chantry shut, and strides out into the backyard with her hands full. One hand holds a mug of hot chocolate, the other a fluffy red throw. She doesn't wrap it around herself, because Grace typically covers herself neck to foot in weather like this anyway, but Sera...
Sera's going to visit the Node, in the snow, wearing a cut-out dress, and whether or not she ends up in the hot spring, she might want to get warm or dry sometime.
Mind you, Grace doesn't think that last note very likely, but blankets are something akin to love in Kalen's eyes, so of course he bade her bring Sera one.

Serafine
Snow piles on the grass and the hedges and the patio, slides in sloppy wet piles from the furniture to the flagstone, glistens in the failing sunlight, or moonlight, or whatever light there is tonight; light from the uncurtained windows certainly, the absolute blaze of it visible through the glass. It melts around the hotspring, though.  In a not precisely mathematical setting, and in the bright cold air the steam is that much more opaque.
Sera has abandoned her heels near the glass sliders leading onto the patio and her bare footprints wend through the snow.
Her back is to the door.  The spare curve of her spine framed artfully by the low-backed dress, the suggestion of ink just visible on her left flank, another hint high on her right shoulder blade.
She is quiet;  still; distant.  Distracted enough that she is not likely to notice the doors opening, or Grace's approach.
Skimming one fishnet-clad toe through the steaming water.

Grace
"Hey, Sera? Aren't you cold? Want a blanket?" Grace asks, following wet-snow footprints to the hot spring.
She folds up the throw, and leaves it by the edge of the spring. If she wants, Sera can use it. If not, oh well. Then, she sits on the wet rocks next to Sera. Right now, the Node feels to Grace like any other. There is no sense of magic about it, or anything for that matter, but she starts unlacing her shoes so she can join in on the toe-dipping anyway.
"Or just want some company?"

Serafi­ne
Sera shakes her golden head.
All those messy curls, now a bit damp from the steam, slithering over her shoulders, her spine.
She still seems so far away and she's standing up when Grace sits to start taking off her shoes, but oh, Sera - see, she sinks to a fairly effortless crouch.  This natural athleticism evident in her frame - usually buried by the demands of the mad heels she wears but look at her now - easy, thoughtless, unaffected.  Elbows braced on her knees, the garters pulled tight against her skin from the changed stance.
"A year ago today," Sera informs Grace, with this mild, wry, rather internal sort of smile, "I didn't know this place was here."

Grace
"A year ago today, I wasn't Awake yet," Grace says, as she wrenches a shoe off and deposits it in the snow. "If I found out about this place, that would involve some explaining."
She then starts with the other shoe. Places that one in the snow as well. Then socks.
And oh, look -- feet.
Which promptly plunk into the water. It's too cold to go barefoot for long.

Serafi­ne
Sometimes, sometimes, it seems as if the air that Sera breathes in is somehow wholly different from that air that lives in everyone else around here.
Some thread of Grace's movement catches Sera's attention, something peripheral and haloed, incomplete and suggested, and Sera glances up from the water then, the gleam of her steady gaze a dark and strangely twilit blue.  Not the early light when the sun has just drowned itself against the horizon, but something darker, deeper.  Gleaming.
And yet, her attention is spare, neatly framed.  The supple curvature of her mouth quiet nearly delicate.  Sera's smile curves all the sweeter the longer she studies Grace in that loving, absent manner, and there there is a distance implicit in both her manner and her glance that cannot be unwritten.
Distant.
Aching.
Lovely.
This note of mutable understand that feels as if it has been tattooed into her skin and etched into her bones.  Oh, she breathes in.  Breathes in, and breathes out, and allows herself to feel the exquisite ache of the past where it folds itself into the present.  Where they are the same, under her skin.
Oh god, she hurts sometimes.
How she hurts sometimes.
How she breaks her own fucking heart.
--
Still: a certain stripped-down clarity as she inhales a deep breath of the steam billowing from the hot spring and allows the warmth to settle into her lungs.
And knows, without question, that whatever it is she needs tonight, she will not find it here.
"Thank you for the blanket, Grace."
Sera says this to Grace as she herself straightens.  Says it and means it but still there is some interstitial thing, some place-between that lives within the words but does not wholly surface.
"I think I'm going to go.  Be well," and here Sera bends down, the sweeping curtain of her hair all damp and golden and she presses a kiss to Grace's temple, with such careful tenderness for such a careless creature.  "Good night."
--
Barefoot in the snow, Sera picks her way across the patio back to the doors.
She is here.  She is everywhere.
One year ago.
Somehow when she slides open the glass doors and slips inside the chantry proper, the warmth inside makes her shiver far more than the cold without.

Grace
"Hey, no," Grace says, and (as much as it stings) takes her feet out of the hot spring. "You came out here to see the Node, don't let me stop you. You need to be alone, I can leave. It's no big deal."
She grabs up her shoes and socks, along with the blanket, to bolt for the Chantry through the snow -- to beat Sera there, so the Cultist can go and do what she came to do.

Serafi­ne
If Grace catches up to Sera somewhere near the door, Sera holds the door open for Grace, gives the Virtual Adept a spare and winsome smile that is threaded lightly with a wordless apology and a much deeper and older kind of ache;  and walks inside after her, scoops up her heels from just inside the doors and heads back toward the kitchen, where Dan waits for her.  
He's watching her.
He's watching for her.  Waiting.
He knows as soon as he sees her that they are going to go.

Grace
"Sera, seriously," Grace says, hovers around just long enough to realize that Sera's not going to respond, just give her strange looks.
It's her. It's got to be her. She's the one making Sera all weird and uncomfortable and cutting her visit to the Node short, and all the hovering certainly can't be helping.
"Um. Right, okay. I'll just ah," she says, making motions to the hall where she can flee to give Sera some space.
And she flees.
In doing so, she reminds herself of what she just told Kalen a few minutes ago. Sera's a big girl. Whatever it is, it's sure to be okay. After all, they went through hell and they came back.

Grace
[Perception + Awareness-as-empathy = Is it me, Sera?]
Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (2, 5, 6, 7, 10) ( success x 3 )

Grace
When she's made it down to the library, to seclude herself into the relative peace of the library, Grace just stares at the books. If someone were to happen on her now, silently staring at a point on the other end of the room, maybe she'd snap out of it. Even she knows it's strange to be standing there with wet, cold, bare feet holding her socks and shoes and a blanket and staring at nothing.
But not right at the moment. Part of her brain registers the thing she's staring at as gold leaf text on some old spine before it quits trying to process such things and moves on.
Sera. Of all the times she's seen the woman, she's never been upset about Grace's presence. There was affection there along with the distance, wasn't there? Perhaps it's just wishful thinking, but maybe it wasn't that Sera desperately wanted to get away from her.
And suddenly she's looking at the socks in her hand, and hoping Kalen didn't see all that in order to ask why.